


'tis but a scratch

by FernShaw



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Falling In Love, Fluff, Grimm is caring, M/M, Nothing too detailed but still, Post-Embrace the Void Ending (Hollow Knight), THK is a bit lost but learning about their feelings, tw : there's a scene where THK gets medical care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:22:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25228258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FernShaw/pseuds/FernShaw
Summary: After getting out of the Black egg, the Hollow Knight requires some help to heal their wounds. Sadly, no one can help in dirtmouth except the troupe master Grimm, and Hollow will slowly have to learn about new feelings around this impressive yet kind bug
Relationships: Grimm/The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel, The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & Hornet
Comments: 12
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

Dirtmouth was quiet as always. Bretta was humming in her home, Sly was cleaning his old yet still deadly nails, and Grimm could just watch everything with a little sigh. Dirtmouth certainly wasn't unpleasant for a town, yet it lacked activity. Without counting the troupe, there was barely 5 inhabitants, clearly not enough for him to have distractions. Well, there was a little Weaver that came time to time, but never stayed longer than a few minutes, usually to buy food from the merchant of the town. The one that seeked his presence by starting the ritual came three times since the troupe's arrival, each time to help the grimmchild grow. The ritual was to be ended soon, yet no vessel was in sight.  
All Grim could do was watch the fading town, thinking of the ritual and his child. Annoying, yes, but at the very least his mind wasn't completely empty.

But one day something unusual happened. The Weaver came to town, just like usual, but she had brought something with her. Or rather, someone.  
A gigantic bug was standing by her side, a pale being with a numerous bruises and cracks on its shell, barely standing up yet creating an energy powerful enough to be felt meters away from them.  
The spider had stopped herself to talk with the elder bug, leaving time for the troupe master to observe the newcomer.

The bug, despite their obvious power, seemed very still and passive. They barely moved since their arrival, apparently only doing it when necessary or asked by the Weaver. Their injuries were a lot bigger than what Grimm originally thought. They had a deep crack on their face, breaking their shell in two separate parts, had their cloak damaged by a nail or at least some sort of weapon, and had an arm that was missing from their body. The troupe master caught himself to find the bug quite gorgeous, surprised by his thoughts yet clearly not denying the statement.

The spider seemed to be definitely annoyed by something yet her conversation with the elderbug seemed to stay cordial. She thanked him, turned towards her companion and slowly walked towards the troupe's tents. Grimm didn't moved by an inch, already standing outside and simply watching the duo coming to his location with his usual welcoming face. After watching them for a while, he ended up noticing that the bug had troubles walking yet did not say a word. The spider finally came, standing in front of the master with a quite serious expression."

"Hello, I assume you are the troupe master that everyone talks about in town."

"You are indeed correct. May I know what would bring a Weaver to my troupe's tents ?"

"I know you do not know me yet I would need a favor from you. My sibling here is quite in pain and I am concerned about their health. I would like to know if you have medical supplies or could try to heal them by some kind of spell. I do not have much to offer, but I can provide silk if you are interested."

"Medical help, yes ... Sadly I do not possess abilities to heal, yet we do have some emergency supplies that we rarely use. Silk would be a fair trade for such thing, I would gladly accept your offer."

To be completely fair with himself, Grimm did not care about the silk. He was bored, and having to take care of someone was something he did appreciated. It reminded him of his child. He smiled thinking of the idea that perhaps he would be granted a possiblity to care for the bug for more than one time, just to be able to be close to someone.

The leader grabbed the bug by the hand, slowly dragging him inside.

"I am afraid that I cannot bring you to the backstage of my show, yet I can assure you that your sibling is in good hands. If you want informations, speak to my loyal partner, Brumm. He can provide you with everything you need until my work is completed."

"Understood."

Grimm hold the hand of the bug for a few meters before noticing that this clearly wasn't needed. They simply followed the troupe master mindlessly, wandering through the corridors with little to no idea of what they were supposed to do. They arrived in a small room, covered in small drawers and surrounded by little red lanterns giving the place a sinister yet almost reassuring tone. Grimm opened a few drawers and took small bottles out with a large amount of bandages and started to look at the body of the vessel.

"I think I will mainly have to disinfect everything and make sure you won't loose more blood. That will hurt quite a lot with your injuries, but I do have painkillers if that makes you feel better."

The bug nodded, and took a sip of the little bottle just gave them. After staying completly still for a little bit, watching the troupe master gather his materials, they started to weakly sign.

"Can you understand me ?"

They seemed to ask robotically, without really looking for an answer. Grimm smiled as he took a little bit of moss and started to cover it with disinfectant.

"I do, why shouldn't I ?"

The vessel stayed silent for a few seconds, looking at the ground.

"People who speak sign language are rare. They usually just ignore me."

Grimm grinned as he started to rub the moss over the knight's many injuries.

"Well, I do speak it and I think it would be quite a shame to ignore you since I'm pretty much here to care for you. Can you get your cloak off ? I need to see if your neck is okay."

The bug got their piece of clothing on the ground, tossing it like they didn't even cared about it. That was not the case, yet this cloak brought to them some bad memories that they would rather forget. The knight clenched their fist at the alcohol touched the damaged parts of their shell, doing their best not to move too much. Grimm immediately started to get their bandages done, trying to not hurt the bug too much.

"So, where do you come from ? I've seen your sister before yet I'm pretty sure you were never here in the past weeks."

"I'm the Hollow Knight"

Grimm snorted, trying to calm himself down and answer seriously.

"Well I'm Grimm, nice to meet you. But I asked where were you in the past, not who you were."

"You don't know about me ?"

"No. I do not know any kind of celebrity around here, except perhaps the king who had quite a reputation."

"It is probably from the best. You would probably look at me differently of you knew who I am."

"Well, if you think it is for the best, I shall not ask ever again."

The troupe master almost covered the knight's body with bandages, yet one part was still to be cared of.

"Your arm- well, I mean what's left of it. Erhm. Sorry, I'm not really good with this type of conversation. So, your arm, I think it would go infected pretty soon if I don't take care properly of it. But the thing is ... My methods are a bit painful. And if I do use them I don't think you would be able to grow back an arm again."

"My body is not able to recrate limbs. Do as you wish."

"Like I said, it will hurt. Are you okay with it ?"

"I do not fear pain. I do not fear anything. Do not think of me as a simple grub."

"Okay, okay, understood. Well, if you want it, you can still hold my hand. Sounds silly but it helps."

The Knight didn't responded, which Grimm took as an invitation to continue. He took a deep breath, concentrated and soon the ritual's started to burn beneath his hand. He simply grabbed the damaged parts of the body, burning the parts enough to make sure it wouldn't be infected by some nasty disease. The knight shivered, apparently hiding a lot more pain than they showed. They stood still for a few seconds before grabbing Grimm's free hand and grasping it like it was the end of their world. The fire burned for a little more time before being extinguished by the higher being, looking satisfied of their work. Grimm smiled seeing the knight holding his hand, yet did not say a word. He simply patted their back and helped them to get back up.

"I think you will get better slowly, but not without any kind of help. I do have a lot of knowledge on medecine, yet healing tales time. I hope you are okay with the idea of seeing le more than once."

"It is not a problem. Thank you for your help, I do appreciate it."

The two bugs started to walk towards the entrance of the tent, Hollow finally joining their sister and leaving the troupe master with a bow. Hornet immediately started to talk back to them once far enough from the tents.

"I really am sorry for forcing you to get there, I hope it wasn't something too hard to get through."

"No. The troupe's leader is nice. He said I will have to get back to him though. Is it a problem for you ?"

"A problem ? It sure isn't. I mean, I wasn't expecting to have to stay in Dirtmouth but getting you back on your feet is my priority. I'm definitely not leaving you in such a bad situation, you went through enough."

"Thank you Hornet."

The knight looked back at the tent.  
Grimm.  
That was definitely a name that he would recall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp, this is a gift made for a friend that I'm pretty proud of  
> It was supposed to be arounf 1k words but ... Woops, my hand slipped


	2. Hot springs

It had been a few days since the Hollow Knight and Grimm's first meeting happened. The vessel was a bit tense at first, not being used to have company around them other than their sister. They had been out of the black egg only a few days before this meeting and getting to know Hornet already felt like a challenge. But the fact was, they appreciated Grimm. Their meetings went from a bit awkward to friendly pretty fast, and even if Hollow wasn't always sure of how to act around Grimm, they never felt judged for their weird behaviors. It felt reassuring. 

That day was simple. Since the infection got off Hallownest lands, the bugs simply got into a state of being stationary even with clear knowledge that nothing was really dangerous anymore. They just had learned that the crossroads and everything besides dirtmouth was dangerous, and questioning that idea felt weird. But Hollow never had that idea in mind. They never thought that the crossroads might be dangerous one day, simply because it was their job to keep it safe. And they had failed. It was difficult not to hate themselves for that but it was simply a harsh reality that they had to accept. 

Hornet was just making some tea with leaves coming from greenpath, while Hollow simply sat on a chair and waited. Before, they would have simply accepted the wait. No mind to think was the idea stuck in their head, and that meant that they shouldn't feel anything. But here, they felt something. There were bored. And if something would have helped, it would have been Grimm. They never felt boredom with Grimm. It was a very weird feeling to describe, something that they wouldn't even begin to imagine before. But one thing was sure, they liked it. 

"Do want some tea Hollow ?"

"It would be appreciated. Thank you."

The knight didn't especially liked tea. But drinking something, tasting something on their lips, feeling something sure helped not to be bored. They took a sip out of the cup, focusing on everything they could think about the taste before being interrupted by a sound. Someone was knocking on the door. Hornet quickly got up to open it and saw a black and red man standing outside. 

"Oh, Grimm ! It is nice to see you here. I'm making some tea, perhaps you would like to joins us ?"

"The offer is appreciated yet I fear that my body temperature doesn't allow me to drink other things than alcohol. I am here to seek Hollow."

"Owh I see. Well, please do not be afraid of coming in !"

The higher being slowly entered the little house, looking curiously around the place. It was rare for him to observe places where non-members of the troupe lived. 

"Hello, Hollow. I hope you're having a good day."

"Hello Grimm. I am. Thank you for asking."

"I was thinking of going out to the crossroads's hot springs today. I wondered if you would be interested in joining me in this little journey ? It might not affect your current state but I've noticed that your body is really fragile, and a bit of walking would probably do wonders to your health."

The knight stayed silent for a bit before turning to Hornet and slowly signing.

"May I ?"

"Hollow, you don't need to ask me ! As long as you're having fun and don't put yourself in danger I'm just okay with everything."

The vessel turned back to Grimm, nodding with enthousiasm to make him understand that they were definitely interested. 

"Very good ! I was thinking of going right now. I will be training for my future performances with the rest of the troupe tonight and even if I do not have the chance to get a public in this kingdom, I can't afford to forget about my moves just because of a lack of training."

The vessel nodded once again, getting off the table and following the troupe master out of their house. They weren't sure about the outside's state, yet couldn't stop themselves from wanting to get out of the town and do something. They followed Grimm into the crossroads, trying to look around for any kind of danger that could lurk in a hidden place. 

Strangely enough, there was no creature stalking them around corners nor any other wanderers that would appreciate a little travel throughout the place. The crossroads were completely empty. It was disturbing and surprising, yet pretty much appreciated. It was nice not have to fight every five minutes against innocent yet dangerous creatures. They arrived to the springs pretty quickly, entering the place with a huge relief. Everything was good and relaxing, and thankfully the place wasn't too damaged by the infection. Grimm slowly got into the hot water with a huge smile on his face, appreciating the temperature. Hollow just stared for a little while before deciding to get in too. They took off their bandages, a bit hesitant, and put a foot in the water. They forced themselves not to get it out immediately, surprised about such sensation they never felt in the past. Slowly but surely they got their body submerged and started to finally relax. It felt incredible. They started trembling, not used to this kind of pleasure. Tears of void started leaking from their mask, slowly mixing with the water, creating a greyish mixture around their body. 

"Hollow ! Hollow, are you okay ?"

The knight slowly signed trying to recompose themselves. 

"I am. It feels good. Very good. I really appreciate this. I never felt that kind of good before. Thank you for bringing me here."

Grimm sighed with a smile of his face, approaching the knight to slowly whipe their tears down. The knight responded by rubbing their head on Grimm's hand, emitting a small purr. 

"If you want, I can bring you here more often. I bought a map and a few pins from the mapmaker in town, I can always find us new places to get to if you just want to explore."

"Sounds very good. I really appreciate your kindness."

"It's nothing. I'm just glad you're here."

The Knight slowly started to stop their tears and actually calm down. It was a very relaxing place. Nothing to disrupt their perfect bath. They simply started at the ceiling, lost in their thoughts. Thoughts. That was a good thing to have, they realized. Confusing yet entertaining.

"Hollow, do you want me to wash your back ?"

"Why ?"

"I don't know, that kind of things is usually nice to have. Well, I don't know about you but I sure enjoy it."

"Is it good ?" 

"Well, do you want me to try it ?"

The vessel nodded and the troupe master responded by slowly rubbing their hands on his friend's back. They felt startled at first, yet quickly relaxed and purred again. Grimm was right. They did enjoyed it. After a little while, they started to sign again. 

"I feels really good to have you here. I like not being alone."

"Why ? Were you alone before ?"

"Yes. A very long time. Felt scary. And painful. I never want to go back there."

"Well, you're certainly not going anywhere, at least not until I'm done with your back. I won't leave you alone. I'm glad you're here with me."

The Vessel looked at the ceiling once again.   
They felt good.


	3. Dance

"I want you to teach me to dance. Please."

That was quite a surprising demand coming out of the vessel. At least, Grimm did not expect it. They seemed to appreciate the moments they spent together but never demanded to spend time with Grimm. The group master was kind of scared that he was forcing himself into the knight's life, but with how good they responded to every interaction they had before he simply assumed that the knight was either too shy to ask about it, or didn't have any idea to propose for time to spend together. Still, they probably couldn't have found a better idea to please the nightmare king. Dancing was Grimm's specialty, and sharing his knowledge was one of the things he was happy to do no matter the circumstances. But with Hollow ? Perfection. Their body was already trained to move in a gracious yet deadly way. Their movements were, even if they didn't trained for it in quite a while, approaching perfection. Grimm really appreciated the battles they had to help them get better at standing on their feet despite their new handicap. He would probably appreciate to have some sweeter times with them too. 

"Your wish will be granted, dear. Do you have anything in particular you would like to try ?"

"I do like the way you perform. I find it ... Majestic. Would you be able to teach me such thing ?"

Grimm gasped and blush. He did work on his shows a lot lately, but he never really paid attention to the public. He just assumed that like usual, only the grimmkins were around to see his shows, and perhaps divine and Brumm were sitting there too if they weren't part of the show. He never expected Hollow to actually come, even if he did invited them more than once. He just assumed they weren't really fond of shows, since they never really mentioned it before. 

"Oh-, well, I think we could do that. Maybe not all movements, because your need to be careful with your joints. Yet, I'm sure you will do an exceptional performance."

Grimm took the vessel's hand, smiling and bringing them to the scene of his performances. A bit grandiose for a première, but still, well deserved. There was no audience, just the two bugs here to see themselves start a passionate dance covered in crimson and black. 

"For startings, I think that we should work on big movements. A fierce dash with a little up in the end is usually really pretty, yet simple to realize once you've got the good idea in mind."

"May I take my nail ? I feel like I'm more comfortable with it to move around."

"No problem, as long as you don't destroy the tents I really don't mind." 

The knight grabbed their weapon, took a deep breath and made a quick dash, ending it with a small and pretty cute jump. 

"Mmmh as I said, you have potential, yet I think you lack creativity. Try to experiment ! Jump right in the middle of your dash ! Try to swing your sword in rythme ! Do not think about me, think of what you would like to be seen as."

The vessel looked at their weapon for a few seconds, before standing up and dashing once again. In the middle of their movement, they threw their nail in the air, jumped and caught it before it touched the ground, ending the movement with a bow. 

Grimm was pretty impressed to say the least, clapping his hands with an enthousiasm he rarely felt in the last few years. 

"Now that is something good ! You sure have imagination when you really want to use it, bravo !"

Hollow put their nail on the ground to sign, apparently happy with their performance. 

"Thank you. I really tried."

"And you succeeded completly. Now, shall we continue dear friend ?"

The knight was right. They liked dancing.  
And they liked Grimm.


	4. Confession

Hunting was usually a quiet moment for most bugs. No discussions, only concentration to be sure to never miss a prey. Still, that kind of thing was pretty different for the siblings. Hollow only knew to speak in sign language, and Hornet learned it in her childhood, so they both had a way to talk while staying relatively silent. And because just waiting for something to happen felt pretty boring, the siblings talked a lot. 

"I've noticed you got better, Hollow. You barely have any bandages anymore."

"It is true. I do not need such things at the moment. Yet, I am pretty sad to not be able to spend as much time with Grimm as before because of it."

"What do you mean ?"

"I kind of ... Not want to go. Still want to be hurt for him to take care of me once more. I really want to stay with him."

"Well, I can understand that, and that's why we're not leaving Dirtmouth now. You have friends there. And Grimm is one of your friends ! It always hurts when you think about leaving people you appreciate. But don't worry, with how close you and him got for the last weeks I doubt he would just let you down once you're completly healthy again."

"No it's not like ... Friends. I don't understand a lot feelings, but I see that this is a different feeling. I think stronger. Bretta is my friend. Sly is my friend. Grimm is like a very good friend but so good that I actually miss him all the time. So good that I'm happy just seeing him. It's a special kind of friend and that's why I don't want to leave him."

Hornet chuckled, watched by her very confused sibling. 

"What is funny ? Is it funny to have a very good friend ?"

"Sorry Hollow, I don't think you like him as a friend. I think you like him as a lover would."

Hollow stopped themselves, starring at the ground. Lover ? Love ? Was this what love is supposed to feel like ? This felt right. This felt good. 

"But ... What if Grimm doesn't love me back ? What if I liked him as love but he liked me as a friend ?"

"I don't see why you should care. If you tell him that you love him, there's not a lot of possibilities. Either he loves you back, and you can be a couple, or he doesn't like you in that way and you can just stay friends ! There could be a third option but ... No I don't think Grimm would react like an asshole. I know that he's really attached to you."

"And what if he loves me back ? What should I do ?"

"Well, you can start doing couple things, like holding hands but ... I'm not really good with that stuff. I never had a lover before. It would probably be best if you asked him."

Hornet suddenly flinched, grasping her needle. She took a few seconds to readjust her body and jumped onto the little thing that was unlucky enough to move near her eyes, impaling it with her needle. 

"Another mosscreep huh ? They're everywhere around here. Welp, I sure won't complain, they do taste better than the infected crawlids of the crossroads."

She put the body of the little creature into the bag her sibling was holding, looking at it with quite a proud face.

"Welp, that should be enough for at least a few days. What do you think Hollow ?"

The knight took a second to understand the question and nod, still lost in their thoughts. They loved Grimm. That seemed right. But what should they do about it ? Should they tell him ? Or never mention it ? Was loving someone possibly bad ? All of thoses questions stuck with along the stag ride to get to dirtmouth. After thanking the old bug, the siblings took the elevator and went to their home. Hornet opened the door, yet Hollow did not enter the place. 

"Are you okay Hollow ? You seem rather ... Lost."

"Should I tell him ?"

"Oh, you're still thinking about Grimm huh ? Well, it's your choice. I won't influence you on that. Hold on, lemme get the bag, your signs are pretty hard to read when you're holding something."

The bug mindlessly gave the bag and started at the ground. They should be strong. Hornet said so earlier, it shouldn't be a problem. Yet them felt scared. 

"I'm going to do it."

"Great. I'm sure you'll be okay, go !"

Hollow walked towards the tents of the troupe, already seeing Grimm from afar. The troupe master was simply take a break outside, appreciating the fresh air of the town. Seeing the vessel slowly approaching him, he stayed still yet smiled, happy to see them still going around the place despite the lack of interesting things happening. The troupe was nice, but once you've seen a few representations you've seen everything they could offer, the rituals being private. 

"Hello Hollow, it's nice to see you around."

"Hello Grimm. I ... Have something to tell you."

Seeing the movements of the knight, Grimm quickly understood that they were quite serious. The happy and carefree nightmare king immediately became tense, hoping this wasn't something too hard to hear. 

"What is it ?"

"It's about ... Our relationship."

Grimm only became even more stressed. Was he too invasive on the knight's life ? Perhaps that was the case. Grimm was an attention seeker, the kind to always stay around people and bring them in numerous places without even understanding that he might be annoying. That was it. Hollow wanted to end their friendship. 

"...go ahead ?"

"I think I like ... But more than just as a friend. And I would like to know if you ... If It would be possible ... To ..."

Grimm's worries dissipated as quickly as they came. That was the exact opposite of what he thought they were asking for. The troupe master gasped and nodded, happily granting them a reply even if they were still looking for their words.

"Yes. I would love to be your boyfriend."

The vessel seemed genuinely surprised. 

"You do ?"

"Well, the feeling is shared, dear. Unless you didn't meant it that way ? In that case, I do apologise for my mistake."

"No, no ! I'm really glad you feel like that too, that's exactly what I meant, it's just ... I'm not sure of how to act now. I'm really new to this kind of things. I'm not sure of what should we do now."

Grimm smiled, approached the vessel and landed a soft kiss on their shell, then slowly backed down. 

"Do you like that kind of things ?"

"... Yes. It feels nice."

"Well, now we can do it as much as you want."

Really   
The pure vessel liked Grimm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy I'm really glad so many of you guys enjoyed this fic ! I'm always very scared to start writing multi-chaptered fics but with all of that support it gives me strength for doing other projects like this one ! <3

**Author's Note:**

> welp, this is a gift made for a friend that I'm pretty proud of  
> It was supposed to be arounf 1k words but ... Woops, my hand slipped


End file.
